Rodriguez wants to play Friday

Arlington, TX (Sports Network) - Alex Rodriguez says he is ready to play, but
the New York Yankees still aren't so sure.

A day after getting a bizarre second opinion on his strained left quad muscle, Rodriguez issued a statement through a publicist and said he wants to play Friday when the Yankees open a three-game series against Tampa Bay in the Bronx.

"I think the Yanks and I crossed signals," said Rodriguez on Thursday in a
statement. "I don't want any more mix ups. I'm excited and ready to play and
help this team win a championship. I feel great and I'm ready and want to be
in the lineup Friday night. Enough doctors, let's play."

Yankees manager Joe Girardi said during his media briefing before Thursday's
game against the Texas Rangers that he wasn't sure when A-Rod would be
available.

"I'm sure we'll go through all the proper rehab channels and move forward,"
said Girardi. "He's had like four or five days off. That's for the doctors and
trainers to handle. We'll see how it plays out. I would be (surprised to have
him Friday)."

Rodriguez, sidelined for the first 3 1/2 months after recovering from hip
surgery, was hoping to make his season debut this week in Texas, but informed
the Yankees about stiffness in the quad -- an injury he apparently sustained
while on a rehab assignment.

An MRI exam revealed a Grade 1 strain and Rodriguez was to remain on the
disabled list, instead returning to the Yankees' spring training complex in
Tampa to rest and receive further evaluation.

Rodriguez, though, asked Dr. Michael Gross, chief of orthopedics of Hackensack
University Medical Center in New Jersey, to overlook the MRI for a second
opinion.

The doctor appeared on WFAN radio in New York on Wednesday and said he didn't
physically examine Rodriguez, but told the radio station he did not see "any
sort of injury there."

Rodriguez, though, was supposed to inform the Yankees in writing that he was
receiving a second opinion about the injury and failed to do so.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman then issued a statement Wednesday night
and said the team wants Rodriguez in the lineup "as soon as possible" and that
the three-time AL MVP was set to be further evaluated Thursday.

Rodriguez is also facing a possible suspension from Major League Baseball for
his alleged ties to Biogenesis of America, a Miami-based anti-aging clinic
suspected of supplying performance-enhancing substances.